Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 19, 1949. His father worked for RC Cola and drove a truck. His mom worked in real estate and also as an interior decorator. The big baseball fan in the family was his grandfather on his mom’s side, Alfred Hellwig. He would ride a streetcar to Sportsman’s Park to watch the Cardinals and the Browns almost every day.
Jerry was the middle child of three boys. Both of his parents are deceased. His brother, Jim, is retired from a career in the Houston Parks system. He now works part-time managing the city’s municipal golf courses. Jerry says he does that so he can play golf whenever he likes. “Jim Loves golf!”. His younger brother John works as an assistant manager of a Walgreens store near St. Charles, Missouri.
Like most big leaguers, Jerry dominated in youth baseball. “There weren’t many lefties; I was bigger than most kids and could throw hard from the time I was 10,” he remembered. “I was always able to compete with kids who were two or three years older. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I could compete against seniors. My high school (Ritenour) won two state championships, and my American Legion teams always went a long way.” Ritenour had an advantage over other schools drawing students from a large area. His graduating class had 1000 students.
One of his teammates was the son of the Cardinals farm director, George Silvey. That connection paid off when the Cardinals drafted him in the second round of the 1967 amateur draft. It surprised Reuss that his hometown team drafted him. Reuss signed for $32,000 dollars and was sent to the Cardinals Gulf Coast rookie league team to start his career. He pitched seven innings in Florida, giving up four earned runs. He was then sent to Cedar Rapids of the Midwest League. Despite a 2-5 record, he posted a 1.86 ERA over 58 innings and a WHIP barely over 1.00. That earned him a trip to AAA, where in his only inning, he gave up six runs to players much older and more experienced than he was.
He spent the entire next season at AA Little Rock. He once again had a losing record, 7-8, but a sparkling 2.17 ERA and WHIP, 1.017. It was clear he was on a fast track to the Cardinals. Reuss was 6’5″ and always felt he would make the majors. One of the oddities of his minor league career was how few games he actually pitched. In 1967, he appeared in 12 games for the three teams. In 1968, he appeared in 17 games for Little Rock. One of the reasons was the Viet Nam war was on, and he enrolled in Southern Illinois University to keep his student draft deferment. That would cause him to miss spring training. He would complete his military reserve obligations while in school in the winter.
Southern Illinois also allowed him to pitch batting practice, which kept him sharp. Reuss was sent to AAA in 1969, and while he did not set the world afire, he did well enough to merit a call-up in September. The expansion helped him. The Padres and Expos joined the NL in 69. By September, the Cards were out of the race, and they wanted to see some of their young players, so Reuss got a call.
HOFer and manager, Red Schoendienst, wanted to get the kids into at least one game apiece, so on September 27, 1969, Reuss made his MLB debut against the Expos. He pitched seven innings of 2-hit shutout baseball with three walks and three Ks and got his first MLB win. He also got his first MLB hit that game, driving in Leron Lee with a single.
Back at AAA to start the 1970 season, he was called up in June, and for the next 18 years, he would be an MLB pitcher. He went 7-8 for the year and cemented a role in the Card’s rotation for 1971. Jerry pitched Ok in 71, having a 14-14 mark with a 4,78 ERA, seven complete games, and two shutouts. He was then unceremonially traded during the winter to the Astros for Lance Clemons and Scipio Spinks. In 1996, Reuss saw former Cardinal GM Bing Devine why he had traded him. Devine told him that Fred Kuhlman, the liaison between ownership and baseball operations, told him that the owner, August Busch II, wanted to get rid of Reuss because he did not like his mustache. Weird, but then again, owners can be quirky too. Just ask the A’s players who played for Charlie Finley.
His first year in Houston was not great, 9-13, 4.17; his second was much better, 16-13, 3.74. But once again, he was traded over the winter to the Pirates for C Milt May. In 1974, he posted a 16-11, 3.50 mark for the Pirates, who went on to meet the Dodgers in the NLCS. Reuss lost two games in that series to the Dodgers. He would post double-figure wins for the Pirates four of the five years he was with them. In his last season with the Bucs, he went 3-2, 4.90 in only 23 games. That was 1978. The reason for the drop-off was simple. Pirate manager, Chuck Tanner, liked his matchups. He preferred using Reuss as a spot starter and out of the pen. He started 12 of his 23 games. Ruess asked for a trade. The Pirates worked out a deal with the Cubs, but Reuss had a no-trade clause in his contract. He had purchased a home in Pittsburgh and wanted some monetary compensation to approve the trade. The Cubs could not fit that into their budget, so the deal was not completed; the Pirates then met with the Dodgers and set up a trade. They told Reuss to contact LA. The Dodgers told him they would make the deal only if he signed a 5-year contract. He did that gladly, and Rick Rhoden was sent to the Pirates for Jerry Reuss on April 7, 1979.
It would prove to be a great trade for LA. For the Pirates, the first year at least, not so much. Rhoden appeared in just one game in 1979. For Reuss, it would be the best years of his career. In 79, the Dodgers were not very good as they went 1979-1983 for a third-place finish in their division. Reuss was 7-14, but his ERA was a respectable 3.54. In 1980, he was second in the Cy Young vote with an 18-6, 2.51 line. He tossed a no-hitter against the Giants in May, with the only runner coming on a Bill Russell error. Sound familiar? He beat Houston to keep LA in the hunt in game 161. They would tie the Astros for the division title but lost game 163.
His inability to be able to make the opening day start when the 1981 season began opened the door for a young lefty from Mexico to become a phenomenon. Fernando started the season with a bang, and the Dodgers never really looked back. Reuss went 10-6 in the strike-shortened season. He won game 5 of the NLDS with a shutout, sending the Dodgers to the NLCS, and outdueled Ron Guidry in game 5 of the World Series to give LA a 3-2 lead. Winning the World Series was his biggest thrill in the game, not the no-hitter. “They do not give you a ring for a no-hitter, but they do for a series win,” he said.
From 1982-1985 he won 18, 12, 5, and 14 games, respectively. In 1984 the Dodgers were not very good, so no one’s stats were outstanding. Reuss was not in the rotation that year and started only 15 games. Pena. Welch, Honeycutt, and Fernando were the starters. But at age 37, Reuss, statistically at least, fell off of a cliff, going 2-6 with an ERA over 5.
On April 10, 1987, he was released by the Dodgers. The Reds snapped him up on April 18th, but on June 14th, after going 0-5 in Cincy, he was released again. On the 19th of June, he was signed by the Angels. He had a little better luck with the Angels going 4-5. But he was obviously past his prime. The Angels released him that winter, and, in the spring, he signed with the White Sox. He had a decent year for the Sox in 1988, going 13-9, 3.44. But the next season, after going 8-5 with Chicago, he was traded to the Brewers. He tried to hook on with several teams in the winter but mostly pitched in the minors in 1990. However, he did get called up to the Pirates towards the end of the year. He pitched seven innings over four games, including a start on the final day of the season in Pittsburgh. He was called out of the dugout after his outing and received a standing ovation from the crowd. He could not have imagined a better way to go out.
For his Dodger career, Reuss went 86-69, 3.11 in 253 games. His career record is 220-191. He pitched for 22 years in the majors. 220 wins which are more than Big D or Koufax. Of course, they did not pitch for eight different teams. He never won 20 but won 18 three times.
Reuss did not leave baseball, he worked for ESPN for three years on the late-night Hotel California games with Chris Berman as an analyst. In 1995 he worked for the Baseball Network, and in 1996 for the Angels. Ruess went back to the Dodgers on their radio broadcasts east of Colorado when Vin Scully was not calling games. When Scully was working, he called Las Vegas 51’s games.
When LA changed its radio format three years later, he was released. “I am probably the only guy ever released as a player and an announcer by the Dodgers.” He said. He coached in the minors for the Expos, Cubs, and Mets. That ended when he had knee surgery in 2005. He now lives in Las Vegas and announces the 51s’ games. Jerry is married and has one son, one daughter, and one stepson. He also has five grandchildren. He is also writing his digital memoirs. He enjoys photography and maintains a youthful outlook on life.
I always enjoyed watching Reuss work. One of the reasons was that Ruess worked very quickly. He did not waste a lot of motion on the mound, and he kept his defense on their toes. I also learned a few interesting tidbits during my research.
When Jerry was with the Stros, his manager was Leo. Yep, the Lip, and he considered Reuss the biggest asshole in the game. I would surmise from what I read that their relationship was less than sunny. In fact, Leo just did not like him very much, and once stated that he was always missing games because of some family emergency of some sort. The record shows otherwise. Reuss made 70 starts in his two years with Houston.
Leo also said that Reuss thought he was the best lefty in the world. Better than Koufax. Reuss denied that; he said, ” I aspired to be like Sandy, I knew I was nowhere near his level.” About ten years later, he had a chance to reconcile with Leo. While with the Dodgers, Lasorda called Jerry into his office, which was unusual because Tommy came and got him himself. Usually, he would send someone. He walked into the office, and Durocher was sitting on the couch. He had come down from Palm Springs. Lasorda excused himself and left the room. Reuss immediately told Durocher, “Leo, I need to apologize to you.” Leo said, “That’s ok; I’ve said some things too. I apologize for being an asshole. I am glad you are doing well with good people.” It was the last time Reuss would see Durocher.
Future Dodgers Down on the Farm (Mark T.)
- OKC beat Tacoma 8-4
- Jacob Amaya had 3 hits
- Drew Avans, Jason Martin, and James Outman all had two hits.
- Andre Jackson started and had his best outing of the year: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K. His ERA is 6.15. Those of you thinking of trading him are quite likely clinically insane.
- Carson Fulmer pitched the last 1.2 innings and allowed no hits or walks, striking out 3. His ERA is 1.49. Bring him on!
- Tulsa was beaten like a rented mule by Springfield 15-5
- Ryan Ward (22-HR), Justin Yurchak, Andy Pages, and Devin Mann all had two hits each.
- Landon Knack is maddening! He gave up 4 ER in 0.1 inning.
- Great Lakes was blanked by Quad Cities 7-0
- Alex DeJesus and Jose Ramos each singled, and that was the offense.
- Never speak of this again!
- Rancho Cucamonga beat Fresno 10-5.
- Yunior Garcia was 3-5 with 3 RBI
- Andrew Heaney started and threw 48 pitches, 38 for strikes. His line: 2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 2 K. He pitched like a guy who hasn’t pitched in a month, but his control was excellent. He will likely get one more rehab start… most likely at OKC, but you never know.
- Ronan Kopp went three innings, allowing but one hit and striking out four while walking 3.
The Futures Game (Mark T.)
There were a lot of really good players with great talent, but I am only going to talk about three.
BOBBY MILLER– His stuff is electric, but his command comes and goes. The light is going to flip on… when is the question.
DIEGO CARTAYA – He is a Big Cat behind the plate. He moves like a much smaller man and runs very well. You saw his effortless swing as he sent a ball that should have been caught to the wall. His bat is ahead of his defense, but it will play up.
MIGUEL VARGAS – He played 2B, but I do not think he will ever play there in MLB. You can see he has a keen eye and is not slow, as some have suggested. He is a blueblood and a baller, and he will Bloom where he is planted, whether that be in LF or 3B. I have heard that Vargas is coming to LA sooner than later.
MLB Amateur Draft
The Draft is part of All-Star Week for the second year! Here’s the schedule:
- Sunday, 7 PM ESPN – Round 1 (including two compensation picks), Competitive Balance Round A (seven picks), Round 2 and Competitive Balance Round B (eight picks), and six second-round compensation picks.
- Monday, 2 PM MLBTV – Rounds 3-10
- Tuesday, 2 PM MLBTV – Rounds 11-20
The Dodgers have virtually no chance of getting an impact player because they dropped to pick #40 due to exceeding the competitive balance tax, and they lost their second-round pick due to signing Freddie Freeman. Yes, they got a pick as compensation for Corey Seager, but it was dropped to the fifth round due to their being over the competitive balance tax. That’s why I don’t think Friedman is inclined to trade his prospects… unless overwhelmed. That’s also why they will not continue to spend as they have. It will ultimately kill player development. You can do it for a short time, but not forever!
I just found out that there will be no dodgers baseball this Sunday. What ? No baseball on a regular Sunday ?
I can not remember that there ever was a scheduled off day during the regular season .
Amayas average is steadily climbing. If he could be around .260 in the show he would make an excellent ss.
Bobby Miller is the real deal and as soon as his command get just a tad better he will be a frontline starter.
He and Cartaya are absolutely untouchable when it comes to trade talks.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luck of the draw. Players get 4 days off. Freeman, who has played in every game will enjoy the time with his family. They should announce the starting pitcher today hopefully. Everyone is hoping CK gets the start at home. Nice win last night.
dodgerram, I totally agree on Amaya. .260 would make him valuable in the Show with his terrific D. I’m a big fan. As I mentioned before, I would spend a lot to keep Trea, but if he goes I would try to fill the vacancy internally and not spend big on another free agent SS or in a trade. I think Amaya would be a better defensive SS than Lux but either one need to be given the opportunity.
GREAT NEWS!!
Dustin May starts and pitches 2 innings last night in the ACL with 3Ks 0Hits 0BB 0R.
That is good news. I also believe there is no way the Dodgers put together the kind of package it would take to get Juan Soto to LA. At least 4 prospects would have to go to DC. Then they would have to hope he was open to a long term deal. Soto want’s to win, and that is why he wants out of DC. I bring Fulmer up now and DFA Moronta.
What for? Allowing a HR with a 7 run lead? His job was to get three outs, he did just that. The homer was irrelevant.
With all the complaining about depth all last season, a move like this would do nothing more than reduce depth. Let’s wait until we actually need him.
Everyone wanted to cut Bickford a couple of weeks ago. He’s perfect in two appearances since being called back up.
With a 9.5 lead the Dodgers can afford to keep guys like bickford and moronta to eat some innings until September callups can be made .
I do not expect guys like Vargas, Busch, Fullmer to be called up before September because of the ramifications on the 40 men roster. Will be hard enough when Walker, dustin and Treinen and others come back.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They can only call up two guys in September since they changed the roster limit to 29. I like Fulmer better than Moronta, and I would cut his lard ass in a minute and add Fulmer to the roster
Don’t like exe Giants! Most of them have sucked as Dodgers and that uni is going to split wide open one of these days and that won’t be pretty!
Great news indeed.
If he and WB would come back for the stretch run and the playoffs it would give us a huge shot in the arm .
Would open up so many options. Either in the rotation or bullpen.
Imagine being able to deploy May, Walker, Treinen, Almonte, Phillipss, Ferguson, Vesia and Kimbrel out of the pen after starts by Gonsolin, Urias, Kershaw and Anderson.
That would be some serious gas and shortening the game.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4 starters under 3.00 ERA YIKES!!
Yet, there are still Negative Nellies who want more starters…
Mark, As you have said we can ‘trade’ for our own guys coming off IL Hopefully soon
I ran across a video of Miguel Vargas’ first game in the outfield where he made 2 very good / great catches. He looked like a natural out there.
Did anyone from the grounds crew get fired yesterday after Muncy slipped on a banana peel? Why the hell is he wearing molded cleats? Switch over to spikes Max!
At the All-Star break, we have a 9.5 lead over the Padres and a 13-game lead over the Giants after a 13-2 July run.
I hope Bellinger spends the next few days working on his swing.
MLB needs to fire its uniform designers. Those “Futures Game” jerseys were horrible. Maybe they’re trying to take the focus off the “City Connect” uniforms.
The Nationals want to go full rebuild and maximize their return on Juan Soto. What kind of prospect package will it take to land a 23-year-old phenom that has never OPS’d under 900?
When will the Angels learn? They have three Ferraris, one or two of them is always in the shop. If they sold Ohtani and Thor they could jump-start their farm system in a big way. Arte is one of the worst owners in baseball.
If the Dodgers seriously want Soto, it will cost them Miller, Pepoiot, Vargas, and Busch… maybe more!
Noooooo way! And then 450 mil in 24?
Early reports on who gets Soto; the Padres.
Way too much to give up
At max I would think about a Package of bellinger, pepiot , knack and One Out of Busch/Pages/vargas and See If the Nats bite
And only If Soto Songs an Extension
If the Nats find a better offer good for them
Go Dodgers!
I’m afraid the would laugh at your offer dram.
Bellinger – having a miserable year and would cost them half of 17 mil this year plus 17-20 mil next year and then he becomes a free agent.
Knack – started last night, went 1/3 inning and gave up 4 runs
Pepiot – good
Busch/Pages/Vargas – would want all three and have us eliminate Belli
And then they’d probably tell us to take on Corbin’s salary.
If we want Soto, let’s wait for free agency instead of depleting the farm system.
In a fairy tale!
Your comments are always thought provoking B &P.
My responses, as follows:
1) Vargas – I agree. Thought he looked very comfortable in the outfield.
2) Belli – supposedly works on his swing every day. I’d rather he forget about baseball for 4 days. Max too.
3) “Futures” uniforms – I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I loved them. Colorful, different, bold. Not an every-day uni, but a great one for a one-off. On the other hand, I think the Dodger “City Connect” uniforms are incredibly boring.
4) Soto – AF won’t pay the prospect price, nor should he, but Preller may find Soto impossible to resist. Gore, Abrams, Hassell and Campusano should get it done. He will have then emptied his entire great farm system from a few years ago. The Yanks and Mets will certainly make offers, but I doubt the Nats would trade Soto in the division so the Mets may be out of luck.
5) Angels – need to trade Ohtani before he walks for nothing. No way Moreno would ever trade him to the Dodgers, not even if our offer was best by double. Thor’s trade value is not all that great right now, so if you figured him as the third Ferrari, I beg to differ. Or is it Rendon?
Some midpoint observations, but not meant to be exhaustive or complete. Just some random musing:
1. CK has found the fountain of youth. He looks great with his increased use of the slider and should be named the
midsummer classic SP today.
2. Tyler Anderson and Tony G. have far exceeded expectations and shows the analytics, the coaching and the
patience of the Dodgers to allow players to fully mature exceeds every other MLB team.
3. Lux has arrived. Top 10 in batting in MLB . Highlights #2 even more so.
4. 30 games over .500 with Heaney only getting three starts and just four innings from Treinen to go along with a BA
near the Mendoza line from Max and Cody highlights the exceptional depth and excellent offense of TT, Freddie,
Will Smith and Lux.
5. A sometimes ineffective Kimbrel along with IL stints for Treinen, Kahnle, Ferguson, V-Gone
reinforces the exceptional BP play by Phillips, Almonte, Vesia etc.
6. TT and Freddie will be MVP finalists.
7. Will Smith was robbed of an all-star roster spot.
8. If all, or just a combination of, Walker, Duffy, V-Gone, Treinen, Kahnle and CT3 can all come back from the IL I
don’t think any trade deadline deals are necessary.
9. Doc is an excellent manager, stop the talk of his firing.
10. Price will be DFA’d if there is a roster crunch and an opening on the 40 man roster is needed.
11. TT needs to be re-signed. He is a better SS than Seager and is the “little engine that could.” Dodger offense starts
with him and his unique combination of speed, power, contact rate and exceptional defense is a must. Keep him a
Dodger.
12. The future remains bright with the likes of Cartaya, Pepiot, Miller, Knack, Vargas etc for the Dodgers to remain
competitive for a long, long time.
13. I see a Dodger/Yankee Fall Classic in our future.
14. GO DODGERS!
100% Accurate!
norcaldodgerfan –
I agree with your ASG break observations – almost unanimously! The only one I hesitated on was proclaiming Doc as an excellent manager; HOWEVER, if his decision-making continues as it has been been on the July run, I will jump on that bandwagon too. If your prognostication of a Dodger/Yankee fall classic comes through, Dodger fans are in for a special season….as long as we win it! Good job…
The July run has ZERO to do with Doc’s decision making….this is what happens when players perform to their potential, they make the Manager look good.
The Cubs just DFA’ed Daniel Norris. Look for AF to pick him up… or not:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/norrida01.shtml
Or not. Way too many walks.
Bear – Great piece on Jerry Reuss. I didn’t remember 22 years in the Bigs. That’s some feat.
Handsome man. As EK would say “he’s got some great lettuce”. He looks like a judge.
Thanks Phil, I found that to be weird too since I did not remember him being around that long. I had to go back and edit the entire piece today, since I spelled Ruess wrong initially.
So pads want Soto. With machado and tatis l billion worth of salary! With darvish @ 36, snell looks like he could be tracking backwards clevinger not impressing anyone, McKenzie gore back down to earth, go for it! The supporting cast not all that great go ahead and bankrupt the farm system. There’s a better than 80 percent chance one of those big 3 will be on the i L. I don’t see Dodgers or Yankees paying 400 million plus, nor should they. I still wouldn’t mind Castillo and farmer(or drury) from the reds. Hope everyone enjoys all star game, too bad lasorda isn’t here to throw out the first pitch!
If the team can extend their lead even further, wouldn’t be surprised to see Vargas come up when Taylor is healthy for DL stints for Bellinger and Muncy.
Would love to see the Padres stay aggressive and set Soto. Would make their roster very top heavy though.
This Ryan Noda (spelling?) kid seems interesting
There was a discussion above about DFAing Moronta. Did I miss something about a rule change? I thought Moronta could be optioned to AAA if needed.
Also BulldogsandPenguins mentioned something about recently people here wanting Bickford to be cut. As for me, I was talking about when guys on the IL come back, I’m hoping the first move will be DFAing Price, then the second move optioning Bickford to AAA. So far in his career Bickford has been an average pitcher and I’d rather him work on getting better in the minors than on the big league team, when guys on the IL come back.
The reason I can be hard on bullpen guys is because I don’t trust Doc in handling the bullpen. For example recently the Dodgers were only down 1 run in the 8th inning and Doc used Price in that spot. That’s not the only example, there have been plenty of times that Doc has done similar moves.
Anyways the Dodgers are 2nd in team batting OPS, 3rd in team pitching OPS, 1st in team starting pitching ERA, 6th in team bullpen ERA.
The Dodgers don’t play until Thursday, I might get withdrawal symptoms. Lol.
I thought Bickford was very effective last year his first full year in the majors. I agree this year has been somewhat disappointing, but not to the degree for him to be DFA. Depending on who comes off the IL at worst Bickford should be sent down to OKC to fine tune some things. He proved last year he has major league talent. But, relievers are different breed.
Yep Bickford was good last year, but in his 2 years combined, that includes this year, he has been average to at best above average. I’m ok with him but when there is a roster crunch, I said optioned not DFA. I don’t think he should be used in high leverage situations though until he proves that he is better and I’ve seen Doc use him in high leverage situations this year.
I forgot to mention though, he is below average against LHB in his career. So he is definitely vulnerable against LHB. In the 3 batter minimum rule era, Doc needs to pick spots for him to pitch. Another reason why when better pitchers come back from the IL he needs to be optioned. But Price should be first in line (DFA) then Bickford optioned. Some would say Moronta instead of Bickford, but there is a big difference in career stats between Bickford and Moronta. Moronta is way better career wise. But we will see who gets better between Bickford and Moronta.
Tigers option Torkelson. Baseball is tough. Reminds me of two of my favorite words of wisdom from our 2 writers. Progress isn’t always linear. And prospects are only prospects until they can do it in the show.
I can’t believe that Soto/Boros rejected the latest off from the Nationals. How many teams have $400M+ to commit long term for an outfielder? The ones that might have the funds to make an offer aren’t in need of a outfielder right now. I have a feeling that Soto doesn’t want to play long term for Washington. So, by refusing the offer he accomplishes two things. He drives up his “apparent” asking price and he gets out of D.C.
With the apparent talent in the Dodger system why would the team subject themselves to another long term high dollar contract? No to Soto. No to Ohtani. No to a high priced SS. Amaya may not be a power hitting SS, but if his defense is as spectacular as projected the Dodgers should have enough offense to compensate for him. It would be nice to have a slick fielding SS. They may need money to resign Buehler, Urias, Smith, and maybe Trea.
I’m very interested to seeing what AF is going to do before the trade deadline. He has surprised us in the past.
Carry on.
I think the fact that Boras has such a reputation and has been so successful in being a merciless negotiator is now being shrewdly used against him by the Nats.
By spurning the Nat’s offer, it has now cost him about 60 million in guaranteed income, and limited the list of teams that can afford him.
Let’s say the Nats don’t sign him and he lands a 13 year deal for am AAV of 35-37, which is realistic. He missed out on 15/440. The Nats can just drag out his contract and trade him at the deadline in his final year for some decent prospects.
Bora$ is looking for a higher AAV, but by playing hardball too aggressively he’s painting himself in a corner.
He rejected it because it was LOW BALL OFFER. No way you are getting Soto for less then $30M a year no matter how many years you pay him. I also read somewhere that it was backloaded so the annual salary would actually be around $27M.
I’m guessing Graterol or Heaney will be coming back the quickest from the injury list. So who will make room for them? The 40 man roster short list has Jake Reed,Thompson,and Lamb. I don’t see Phil Bickford and Andre Jackson unless it has something to do with maximum pitchers you can have.
Both Graterol and Heaney are on the 40 man roster, so no transactions are needed to the 40 man roster unless I missed a new rule. By the way Andre Jackson is no good in my opinion, he would be one of the first pitchers I would DFA from the 40 man roster if I had to.
Active rosters are limited to 13 pitchers, so if any pitchers come back from the IL, another pitcher has to be optioned or DFA. The first one should be David Price in my opinion (DFA).
Freddie Freeman named to the all-star team. Should get a huge ovation from the home team crowd. An injustice for not being named originally has been corrected but Will should have been named also.
Billy Gasparino on Dalton Rushing joining #Dodgers catching depth: “Listen, our catching situation is in really good shape in the organization, everyone knows that. But to add that kind of talent, we just felt was too good to pass up.”
40. Los Angeles Dodgers: Dalton Rushing, C, Louisville
Physical LHH with serious offensive tools, plus power in there with good feel to hit, improved quite a bit this spring behind the plate, think he’s got a good chance to stick there now. Good value. #PGDraft #Dodgers